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In Saturday’s game at Loftus Road, Ryan Shawcross was singled out by BT Sport’s pundits for being over-zealous in his defending during corners. It is by no means the first time that a Stoke player – or Stoke as a team, in general – have been accused of being overly physical in their approach to the game.

But I don’t want this blog post to be just about Stoke, because the problem isn’t one caused solely by the Potters – nor does it only involve the team from the Potteries.

Wrestling or grappling at corners is by no means a new phenomenon that entered the Premier League as Stoke earned promotion. As play and skills have developed, so too have counter-defensive tactics – and one of those has been the physical interactions between defenders and strikers.

Look closely at the best defenders in the world, and study the way they play week in and week out. I guarantee there will be no game where they don’t hold or touch the attacker in front of them at some point during the 90 minutes.

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It’s a tactical deployment. It’s psychological. It’s a message to the striker, saying ‘Hey – this is my space. You’re not getting past me.’ It also gives the defender that split second longer to react to any flicks, skills or trickery the attacker employs.

In open play, the defender will keep the attacker at arms length. With the occasional tap on the shoulder, it’s the defender’s way of keeping the pressure on the attacker – and it goes hand-in-hand with a verbal reminder, too.